Posts tagged kids

I took my kids to the CrossFit Kids class at CrossFit Impavidus this evening. I am so beyond thrilled that both my kids are getting into it and talking about their squats and rounds. It warms my heart.

While they were working out, Coach Marc was there preparing for his workout and asked if I wanted to join him. How can I refuse Coach Marc? So I joined in and did my 2nd workout of the day. It was a good, fast workout!

It’s been a crazy busy day. I skipped my usual workout to help out CrossFit Impavidus Kids at the Family Fun Fest at Dulles Town Center. We want to get the word out about CrossFit and CrossFit Kids. We had some of our own kids and some of our athlete kids come by and did some demo workouts for the parents to see. We had a great time but boy am I wiped out.

My friend Jason took this pic of HB and I — and he said to me “look at your arms”. I have to admit I look pretty darn strong. I am definitely not a small girl — I am strong and fit looking tho.

I’m meeting some athletes at the box tomorrow to get in a coaching session. I have been struggling with a few things and need a coach to help me figure out what my problem is. Kipping Pull ups in particular. So – I am taking matters in my own hands and scheduled time with Sven — who has been a CrossFit coach for years. A girl’s gotta do what she’s gotta do!

It’s important to take time to remember the things in life that make it special. That sometimes means leaving all the digital stuff and being present in the moments you have with your family. Our roadtrip to Monticello, Williamsburg and Busch Gardens was so fun. We had a lot of laughs, got to know our kids better, wore each other out, got on each others nerves, had ice cream every day — The things you should do on a vacation.

As much as I love doing my blog, it’s important to not have it take over your entire life and get in the way of spending real valuable time with those you love. You never get this time back, so don’t get too wrapped up in what’s online. Learn to unplug and reconnect with ‘real life’.

Nineteen chains — including Burger King, Denny’s, IHOP, Chili’s, Friendly’s, Chevy’s and El Pollo Loco — have agreed to participate in the Kids Live Well initiative as worries increase about the role of fast food in childhood obesity.

French fries, slathered with ketchup and washed down with a pint of soda, are a favorite part of fast-food lunches and dinners for millions of American youngsters.

But taking a cue from nutritionists, a group of 19 restaurant companies are pledging to offer more-healthful menu options for children at a time when concern is growing over the role of fast food in childhood obesity.

Burger King, the second-largest burger chain, for instance, will stop automatically including French fries and soda in its kids’ meals starting this month, although the items will still be available.

Instead, the company said Tuesday, its employees will ask parents whether they prefer such options as milk or sliced apples before assembling the meals.

“We’re asking the customers to specify what they want,” said Craig Prusher, the chain’s vice president of government relations. Fries and soft drinks are “no longer a default decision,” he added.

Yesterday, I received an email from someone who had read my most recent blog post in the Ashburn Patch about getting kids into fitness. I fully believe there is no reason that is good enough to not be on top of this issue as parents. It’s part of our job to not only lead by example, but also find ways to get your kids’ moving. And as I have said — — it doesn’t have to be a concerted effort like an organized sport but sitting around all the time can not be an option. We are the ones in charge — turn off the tv, go for a walk with them, do some water sport — just get them in the habit of moving! You are doing them a huge favor, even if they don’t recognize it now. I am very serious about this issue too — after spending the weekend meeting teens at YouthFest in Ashburn — it became even more clear that this is a serious issue among the young kids today. After all the work I have done to set the example, I have little patience for parents that make excuses. There are very few excuses that would explain and ok the lack of attention and effort that many parents show towards this issue.

We met a new lady today at CrossFit Impavidus — Diane. She was tough and I didn’t do the prescribed weight (Rx’d) —

Such an interesting discussion. I know lots of people with no kids who are happy, and those will kids who are happy. I guess it all depends on how you define Happy.

Nearly one in five American women now ends her childbearing years without having a child, compared with one in ten in the 1970s, according to recently released U.S. Census data.

The most educated women, those with bachelor’s degrees or higher,are among the most likely never to have given birth, according to the Pew Research Center.

Women like Copeland are challenging the idea that happy and fulfilled lives require children. In fact, other studies suggest that having children can have a negative impact on happiness.

“As a group, parents of all types and all socioeconomic levels in the United States report more symptoms of depression and emotional distress than their childless adult counterparts,” said Robin Simon, a Wake Forest University sociology professor who researches the association between parenthood and emotional well-being.

Her information is based on a nationally representative study sampling 11,473 Americans. They were picked from all races, socioeconomic backgrounds and educational levels

Today I took my daughter and a friend to one of the CrossFit Kids classes that CrossFit Impavidus held to start prepping for the summer session. They had opened it up to all members’ kids, so why not tire my kids out on a Sunday morning. I had read about what CF Kids was all about, but I was curious to see it put into action.

Coach Lori and Coach Jerry started off with gathering the kids in a circle and talking to them a bit about what was on tap for the session. What I liked about that was they talked to them in kids speak so they could understand what’s going to happen. They went over some of the other skills the kids would have to use when doing the exercises and then into the warmup they went. This session was more geared towards the 5-8 year olds than the older kids.

They did some general stretching and then began to get ready for the Lego Game.

In teams of 2, each partner has to do broad jumps to one wall to earn 3 lego pieces – then with lego pieces in hand, they run back alternating for 6minutes. They can earn 3 more lego pieces if individually they decide to do 3 burpees right after their broad jump. The team that can construct the highest lego structure within 5 mins of time being called wins. What I loved about this was i combined exercise with learning to work as a team and then use your brain to figure out how to get the tallest structure.

After they did a quick clean up of their lego pieces, the gang headed outside to play a game of tag with a twist. One person is it – once they tag someone, everyone freezes —

and those 2 (tagger and taggee) have to do 3 reps of the exercise that the coach calls out. For this game it was squats, push ups, and tuck jumps. So the 1st tagger/taggee had to do 3 squats. Everyone unfreezes and the taggee becomes the tagger and goes after someone else — doing the 3 push ups and so on. … The kids were well run after this was over —

Then they regathered in the circle for a wrap up and afterwards were able to look around and try out a few exercises on their own if they wanted — like push ups, pull ups, box jumps and ropes.

I love that these games are designed to be fun and active and also engages their mind. They learn strategy, teamwork, and patience! My daughter loved it!

One of the great things of CrossFit is that they realize that kids need to have a program too — to help them on their journey of lifelong health and fitness. The program is called CrossFit KIDS and it’s specialized just for them.

CrossFit Kids is not simply a scaled down version of CrossFit, it is entirely absolutely CrossFit geared and designed for a special population and the specific developmental needs of that population.

(neurological, cognitive, motor)

CrossFit Kids is the principal strength and conditioning program for many young athletes and the primary P.E. program for many home schools, charter schools. It is used by athletic teams, martial arts schools and many parents that want their kids to grow up healthy, strong and have a life long love of working out thus avoiding the common problems associated with childhood inactivity and obesity.

Our program delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive. Our specialty is not specializing. Healthy living requires that our kids push, pull, run, throw, climb, lift, jump, effectively and safely regardless of whether or not they play athletics. Athletics is a specialized pursuit. Our goal is to support the specialist, but reward the generalist.

My description: Fun times for your kids. The younger kids get to play and do kids games for exercise – so its fun for them. The older set of kids get to learn fundamentals and have fun in a group setting that is made up of kids their own age. They learn about nutrition and start to incorporate exercise in their daily lives. For those kids that are already active and do team sports – CrossFit KIDS is a great strength and conditioning program to enhance their sport. Here’s the link to some of their demos~

So why am I mentioning all of this? Well — CrossFit Impavidus is going to be starting a CrossFit KIDS program in Ashburn, VA. If you want to get your kids moving this summer – they are going to be having special classes during the summer to introduce and get your kids moving! For more info – email them at lori@crossfitimpavidus.com!

**Even though I am a paid consultant for CrossFit Impavidus – this post is my own and was not requested or influenced by CFI.

It’s always interesting to learn about the origins of things that seem like they have been around forever. Hannah, along with some of her friends, raised money for the Ronald Mcdonald House a few years ago – but I never knew how it was founded. Very tragic, sad story — pediatric cancer is more heartbreaking than any other cancer to me. Those precious kids – having to deal with the pain and sacrifice, quickly being asked to grasp concepts that they shouldn’t have to know about —

Kim Hill, the daughter of former Philadelphia Eagles player Fred Hill, was diagnosed with leukemia when she was 3. Ronald McDonald Houses, now in 30 countries and regions, offer families of young patients a place to stay near hospitals.

It goes without saying that children who are obese would benefit from aerobic exercise. However, they’re likely to find the idea of going for a jog or spending half an hour on a treadmill about as appealing as watching Congress debate the fine points of tax policy on C-SPAN.

Fortunately, there’s an alternative form of exercise that plays to the strengths of plus-sized kids: weightlifting.

It may sound like an unconventional suggestion, but I’m not the only one making it. There’s even some evidence that for this demographic, weightlifting is a more effective gateway to a healthy lifestyle than traditional aerobic exercise.